The United States has approved the sale of 20 F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter jets to Greece including six originally destined for Turkey, according to reports.
Greek newspaper Estia reported that the procurement of the jets were discussed during the visit to the country by the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo earlier this month. According to the report, the six F-35As will be purchased in 2022.
Last month, Greece also announced its intention to acquire 18 Dassault Rafale fighter jets from France to equip the Hellenic Air Force.
The new developments came amid a standoff between Greece and Turkey over territorial dispute in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Turkey was expelled from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program after it took delivery of the Russian S-400 Triumf advanced air defense systems. The U.S. said that S-400 is a threat to the stealth fighter jet and it compromises the shared NATO air defence systems.
Turkey recently began live-fire testing of its S-400 Triumf system from the Sinop province on the Black Sea coast. The test-firings were condemned by Washington.